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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — a coil
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. pit — in a race
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com